Do you know what the occasions were, that he was photographed in that 1961 session (was that for a book photo) and the two of them in 1966 (was that one of the interviews)? Which book is he "reading" to Edith?

Nice pic of Rayner! But those Hobbit production pics - what in the world is Gandalf wearing, and why did they dress the Dwarves in Roman armor! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They are fine photos. According to the Scull-Hammond, the first set were taken in 1961. They weren't exactly for any special occassion: what happened was that Pamela Chandler wrote to Allen & Unwin to ask if she could make a series of photographs of authors whom they published. A&U passed the request on to Tolkien, and there we are. Several of the photos taken that day have been used in books - one of my favourites (not shown on the page I linked to, for some reason) is in a book just by my hand, here: 'English and Medieval Studies Presented to JRR Tolkien on the Occassion of his Seventieth Birthday'.

The second series was taken in August 1966 - I'd always assumed they were taken to mark Ronald and Edith's Golden Wedding Anniversary, but no - that was in March. Anyway, they are another fine set.

Tolkien liked Chandler - though he jokingly remarked in a letter to Rayner Unwin: '(she) inflicted such blistering lights on me, and held the poses until I was nearly stunned. So that I felt like a boiled or grilled owl, and think I look rather like one in most of the resulting pictures'.

(Scull & Hammond, Vol.II p.153)

BTW - the book in Tolkien's hand is the 1st Japanese ed. of The Hobbit. (which I don't own a copy of, dagnabbit).

Thanks so much for sharing them. Wonderful pictures (I will not comment on the few at the end, other than to say that they do not match my personal imagination of characters from The Hobbit, at all). 'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.

Toby Jug A Toby Jug - also sometimes known as a Fillpot (or Philpot) - is a pottery jug in the form of a seated person, or the head of a recognizable person (often an English king). Typically the seated figure is a heavily-set, jovial man holding a mug of beer in one hand and a pipe of tobacco in the other and wearing 18th century attire: a long coat and a tricorn hat.

- as it happens, I have a set of eight postcards with images from these sets of photos - five colour, the rest in black-and-white. Including one with JRR's toby jug. He used it to knock his pipe tobacco into.

Thank you for finding that! If that's the review for the 2001 production, then the photos must be from the earlier 2000 production, as they show Michael Geary as Bilbo and James Earl Adair as Gandalf. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have a great affection for Ronald and Edith; odd in a way, because I never met them. But I have met some of their family; children, grand-children; great-grandchildren. And I very much 'get' an idea of what they were like.

Here's what Ronald wrote to Christopher after Edith's death (from memory) - 'She was, and knew she was, my Luthien... but now the story has gone wrong and I am left, indeed one-handed. And I cannot plead before the inexorable Mandos.'